Even You is Split in Fifths (A quintessential quintuplets fanfic)

Chapter 16

The fireworks would be starting in thirty minutes. Fuutarou, Nino, and Itsuki were searching all around. Itsuki was on the phone with Yotsuba trying to communicate where the third and fourth sisters were. Unfortunately Yotsuba wasn't the best at giving directions.

"Do you know where the crowd is?" she called into her phone.

"What crowd? Uesugi-kun I don't understand what she's saying- hello?"

"Uesugi-san do you know where the crowd is?" she asked again.

"YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT THERE'S A CROWD EVERYWHERE!!!!!"

"Uh... then we are near a building!"

"THERE ARE BUILDINGS EVERYWHERE!"

"U-uh... Miku you talk to them." she handed the phone over. 

"Okay Fuutarou... listen to my instructions closely, just meet up where the fireworks are, got it?"

"Thank you, finally someone with good instructions." he sighed as he hung up the phone.

"Uh oh..." Miku said just then. 

"What's wrong?" Yotsuba wondered.

"I don't know where the fireworks are..."

Fuutarou, Itsuki, and Nino were pushing their way to the crowd. "At least we know where to go." Fuutarou pointed to the direction the crowd was heading.

It was inching closer to the time the fireworks would begin. "Plus we don't have to worry about Miku and Yotsuba." Nino added shoving a random stranger out of her way.

"Unfortunately we still don't know where Ichika is!" Itsuki added.

"She's not with the other two?" Itsuki shook her head.

Fuutarou sighed, "You guys keep going, I at least know where to go. I'll look for her."

The other two nodded. They headed off, quickly disappearing into the crowd. Leaving the tutor all alone on the side. He decided to quickly look for Ichika. 

She was the oldest so it seemed like she would be the least likely to get lost. Maybe something had happened?

"Ichika?" he called, it was no use, the crowd's buzz was too loud for him to be heard. All he could do was start looking. 

Or just find her on the bench taking a nap?

Except she wasn't napping, she was crying. Fuutarou couldn't see but underneath her arms were tears. The feeling of loneliness that she hadn't felt in a while. 

You see when they were twelve their mother died. Ichika being the older sister had to keep her chin up. She couldn't let her sisters see how much she hurt at that time. 

Her mom was the most important person to her along with her sisters. Although she knew that Itsuki was a favorite of hers, she still couldn't help but feel broken after her death.

She took it harder than even Itsuki herself. On her mom's birthday for the first few years she just stayed in her room crying. She never told her sisters, they all believed she was sleeping. 

When she helped find the mom for the little girl, she hadn't cried in a long time. But for some reason, she just let it slip. She often asked herself "Why?"

Why did she have to pass? Why couldn't they be a normal family for once?

It was more than that. Not only was she missing her mother, but she felt her sisters were slowly drifting apart from each other. They were lucky to eat a meal with two, much less the five of them. Everyone was busy, looking for a job, going school. 

Just once Ichika wanted everyone to be at the place at the same time. But what could she do?

She felt a tap on her shoulder. Her tears had dried up by then so she looked up. And she realized, it's not a what, it's a who.

"Yotsuba! Wait for me!" Miku breathed as she tried to hold on to the athlete. 

"Speed up Miku! We might miss it!" 

"I can't! You need to start off slow while working out!"

"Well we don't have timeeeeeee!" 

They blew through the crowd knocking people over left and right. "Excuse me!" Yotsuba would say, "Pardon me! Sorry kid! Did I just run over a grandma?"

But they finally managed to arrive. Nino and Itsuki were sitting on the grass. "Just in time." Yotusba sighed, Miku gave a thumbs up as she was breathing heavily. 

"Good work." Itsuki head patted Yotsuba.

"She's not a dog Itsuki." the clover girl proved other wise as she was breathing heavily with her tongue out. "I stand corrected."

A few moments later Fuutarou and Ichika emerged. "Hey." Ichika waved.

"Took you guys long enough." 

"Ahaha, my bad, my bad." Ichika scratched her head, "Good thing Fuutarou-kun came and rescued me." the other five sent death glares to Fuutarou.

"Rescue? I just woke you up!" 

Ichika would say otherwise. And although they may one day be separated. For now they're together. Tha'ts what is most important to her.

"Hey guys." she said to her sisters.

"What's up?" Nino raised an eyebrow.

"I love you all." she grinned as the fireworks show began. "No matter where we are."

"No matter who we meet." Nino smiled.

"Our pain." Miku put her hand in the middle.

"Our joy." Yotsuba cheered.

"Is equally shared." Itsuki finished.

"The most important thing is that we all stay together!" they echoed.

Fuutarou just smiled. These guys really are a pain. But it's the good kind of pain.

Yay a new chapter! Hope you all liked it! I love you all so much thanks for reading!

Be safe! Mask up! Don't be stupid!

-Kazuya